Birds of Prey Members, Ranked by Strength

The upcoming Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) film promises to introduce some mainstay members of the DC Comics team while adding Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn to the roster. The Gotham-based team has always offered an interesting lineup of heroes (and sometimes villains) that operate on missions throughout the DC Universe.

The roster has seen a number of heavy hitters join up over the years who could be on deck for live-action appearances in future sequels if the film is successful. Today we are going to take a look at the members of the Birds of Prey who will be appearing in the upcoming film and ones from the comics who showcase the strongest the team has to offer, and see who sits at the top of the roost.

12 Lady Blackhawk

Zinda Blake fought alongside the Golden Age heroes of the DC Universe as a member of the elite pilot squadron known as the Blackhawks during WWII. Blake learned how to pilot almost anything while perfecting her combat and markswoman skills in order to join the Blackhawks, making her a formidable foe with a mean left hook.

1994's timeline altering Zero Hour: Crisis in Time event left Zinda stranded in the modern day, where she soon started working with the Birds of Prey as their pilot and became a mainstay of the team before being again lost to DC's ever-changing continuity.

11 Renee Montoya

Renee Montoya is set to appear in the upcoming Birds of Prey adaptation, played by Rosie Perez. Montoya worked alongside many Gotham heroes both as a skilled police officer and as the highly trained costumed hero The Question, though she was never officially a member of the Birds of Prey.

Despite years of hardcore detective work in Gotham alongside Batman and her training to take over as The Question, Montoya's real strength comes from her popularity, which launched the character into the comics after her debut on Batman: The Animated Series, much like Harley Quinn.

10 Poison Ivy

It seems like a missed opportunity to not include Dr. Pamela Isley in the upcoming Birds of Prey adaptation given her relationship with Harley Quinn. However, her exclusion from the film (barring an unknown role or cameo) is most certainly not due to her lack of strength.

Poison Ivy has faced off against the best Gotham has to offer for years, and while her physical strength may not benefit her as well in battle as her control over plant life, Ivy has proven her mettle many times both as a villain and brief member of the Birds of Prey. Very brief.

9 Black Alice

Black Alice from DC Comics using her magical abilities

Lori Zechlin manifested her incredible ability to steal the powers of other magical beings from the DC Universe in the pages of Birds of Prey. Lori first tapped into the mystical powers of Black Adam as a teen, which inspired her costumed name and attire.

Black Alice eventually worked alongside the Secret Six, Coven of Three, and other powerful magical beings after her time with the Birds of Prey. Black Alice would be much higher in the rankings if she had more control over her stolen abilities.

8 Huntress

An image of Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress from Birds of Prey.

Helena Bertinelli was the first addition to the developing partnership between Barbara Gordon and Dinah Lance. Huntress was always the outsider of the Batman Family, given her history as the daughter of a murdered Mafia don and morally questionable tactics as a crime-fighter.

Years of gymnast and combat training coupled with her expertise as a markswoman earned her the respect of the Bat Family and her high ranking on this list. Mary Elizabeth Winstead will portray the character in the upcoming film.

7 Harley Quinn

While the new connecting figure of the DCEU may not have been a member of the Birds of Prey before the upcoming film, Harley Quinn more than holds her own among the other members of the team. Prior to her transformation, Dr. Harleen Quinzel was a gifted psychiatrist who was manipulated by her patient, the Joker.

Harley was driven to the brink of insanity and altered by the Joker's chemicals, making her a dangerous crazed combatant. Longtime partner Poison Ivy later enhanced her strength, healing, and immunity to toxins, making her a dangerous threat or a helpful ally, depending on her day.

6 Batgirl

Barbara Gordon may have started her heroic career as Batgirl, but for the majority of her time with the Birds of Prey, she was the information broker/hacker known as Oracle. Dinah Lance led the team on missions, while Oracle was the heart and sole driving force behind the team.

"Babs" not only handed out missions for the Birds of Prey, but also provided a network of heroes including Batman, the Suicide Squad, and the Justice League with information. She later rejoined the Birds of Prey as Batgirl during the New 52, combing Oracle's skills with Batman's training.

5 Jade Canary

Lady Shiva brandishing her swords in DC Comics

Jade Canary is the heroic identity adopted by assassin-for-hire Lady Shiva during her brief stint as a member of the Birds of Prey. Shiva switched places with her former rival Black Canary during the "One Year Later" storyline that ran through DC's titles after 2006's Infinite Crisis event.

Shiva is one of the most skilled combatants in the entire DC universe, a martial arts grandmaster who has trained former Robin Tim Drake, led the League of Assassins, and is the mother of Cassandra Cain, who we'll talk about soon.

4 Black Canary

bop-Jurnee-Smollett-Bell-as-Black-Canary[

Dinah Lance/Black Canary developed a close relationship with Barbara Gordon during her years as Batgirl, and later Oracle. The two began officially working together in 1996's Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey #1 and quickly expanded into a mostly female covert operation led in the field by Black Canary, who sits only slightly higher than Shiva as a DC combatant.

Her devastating Canary Cry gives her the advantage in most situations, though she prefers to rely on her martial arts skills. Jurnee Smollett-Bell will portray Black Canary in Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).

3 Orphan

Cassandra Cain first appeared during the "No Man's Land" event, impressing Batman with her fighting prowess and becoming the second Batgirl, then Black Bat, and finally Orphan. Cassandra was raised by her master assassin father without verbal skills, relying instead on body language to help her combat and assassin training.

That means that Cassandra's main form of communication is fighting, making her one of the deadliest humans on the planet in a straight fight. Cassandra will appear in Birds of Prey played by Ella Jay Basco.

2 Hawkgirl

While most of the previous entries main strengths are their fighting prowess and skills, with Kendra Saunders we start seeing some of the physical strength the Birds of Prey have added to their roster. Hawkgirl has too confusing of a history to go in to here, but what's important is her use of the alien Nth Metal, which grants her enhanced strength, healing, vision, and flight.

Due to her unusual origins and exposure to the Nth Metal, she has been locked in a cycle of death and rebirth for millennia where she has acquired multiple lifetimes worth of combat training. She also uses a deadly Nth Metal Mace that can be charged with electricity.

1 Big Barda

Hailing from the fiery planet Apokolips, Big Barda is the strongest member of the Birds of Prey, and frankly, most teams she finds herself on. The former member of the Female Furies (one of the fiercest strike forces in Darkseid's evil empire) is a New God who is on par with Wonder Woman's strength level, making her all the backup the Birds of Prey ever really needed.

If her incredible physical strength wasn't enough, she also wields the Mega-Rod, which can release powerful energy blasts that have knocked Superman around, while also being able to create handy teleporting Boom Tubes.

Directed by Cathy Yan from a script by Christina Hodson, Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) stars Margot Robbie, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rosie Perez, Ewan McGregor, Steven Williams, Derek Wilson, Dana Lee, Francois Chau, Chris Messina and Matthew Willig. It is scheduled to be released on Feb. 7, 2020.